Saturday, July 4, 2009

Learned Leaves 7/04/09

The best thing about the future is it only comes one day at a time.

Abraham Lincoln
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Good day to you.
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Today is America's Birthday - 233 years old.

Here's to the true patriots, the common people, the Americans.

Here's to those who dared to make it happen. Here's to the men who dared to sign for independence and gave their lives for it. Here's to those who dared to drop everything and take up arms to protect their lands, their families and their neighbors, to the farmers who dared to defend the bridge and their weapons against ranks of the strongest army in the world and chased them away, to the freed slaves and others in Boston who dared to stand up against the English rifles and were the first Americans to die for it, to those who dared to dump a precious cargo into the bay rather than to allow the government to line its pockets and those of its businessmen at America's expense, to those who dared to cross the ice bound Delaware River on a freezing night, the river I see from my own window, to chase the enemy from Trenton, to those farmers and merchants who dared to spend a blazing hot Phildelphia summer behind closed doors to write a constitution.

Here's to those who dare to make it work. Here's to the farmer and the fisherman, to the miner and the forester, to the carpenter, the mason and the gardener, to the teacher and the preacher, to the banjo player, the trumpet player and the church organist, to the tailor and the cobbler, to the actor, the singer and the dancer, to the truck driver, the bus driver and the cab driver, to the fire fighter, the cop and the paramedic, to the lineman and the lighthouse keeper, to the longshoreman, the teamster and the transit worker. to the typist, the printer, the mail carrier and the factory worker.

Here's to the true patriots, the common people, the Americans.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY


DB - Vagabond Journeys
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May you have a joyous day, what ever country you live in.
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WEEKEND PUZZLE

This puzzle is in 2 parts, Part A and Part M. (What? You'll get Parts B through L at another time, Keep your shirt on.)

Part A: Below is a list of the 13 original states. They are the reason we have 13 stripes on our flag. Your mission is to tell me what is wrong with this list. (Note: "Too many." is NOT a legitimate answer.) DON'T CHEAT !

Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia

Part M: How did they become the first 13 states?

There is 1 winner so far.

Good luck Email Lions. Good luck Blogspot Tigers.
Answers will be posted on or about 9 p.m. Sunday

6 comments:

Linda S. Socha said...

DB

Nice post! I find my brain is too wrapped around work (support staff gone until the 13th) to participate in the puzzel! I am working more that I really want to right now!! All of that is ok!

Next time hopefully I can be involved
Linda

Beth said...

MY ANSWER (other readers can skip this)

Let's see, I think Florida and South Carolina were not part of the 13, and West Virginia didn't exist as a state until the Civil War. I'm not sure I get the question about how they became the first 13 states. When the Declaration of Independence was signed? Hugs, Beth

Linda's World said...

Very nice entry DB. I wonder if they are still teaching this in the schools today? Our young people need to have a sense of 'where they came from.' Bob's down on Tacoma's waterfront in the camper ~ my grandkids & I are going down just after 12 noon. My son, his girlfriend & her mom are coming down later too. There's an air show over the waters of Puget Sound this afternoon, all sorts of vendors & entertainment and then at 10pm the big fireworks show over the water. I'm glad we'll have the camper (our own potty & fridge full of food). Have a good day...Linda in sunny & very warm Washington

Janice said...

Wonderful post today. Sounds like you have a great spot to live. I found your picture at the bottom.
Quiz is over too soon...now I must go work in the garden, was hoping to avoid that.

Cathy said...

O boy, history my favorite!! Okay, Maine, Vermont, West Va and Fla weren't original colonies (you referred to them as states, not quite accurate but I'll let it slide) and they entered into consortium of statehood as a result of our Revolution (in caps!) This is a great post, no matter how rotten a system gets you don't have to toss it out just because the present holders are corrupt IF it works, don't fix it right? Those before us did pretty damn well, they gave their damn lives for hot's sake. Inspiring, DB, thanks.

Cathy said...

...and speaking of patriots as rightly you do, I doubt one needs high-sounding mummified documents to be considered one. It's the ideals that formed those words, IMHO. I know people feel in their hearts something is amiss across the land, and it trails back to the beltway. But individual thoughts and the daring to give your all is what gave us what many now take for granted, so surely it can happen again, and I for one believe eventually it has to. The tenets of liberty and freedom ring clear and clean, once the rotten parts are cut out. UNITY.